The invention relates to wireless communications systems having a plurality of mobile units (devices) having the ability to connect short-range with a plurality of Base Stations, and techniques for handing off a mobile unit from one Base Station to another when the mobile unit moves between areas of coverage of neighboring Base Stations.
The effective range of a mobile device, such as a cordless handset, from its Base Station is limited by its transmission power and by the receiver sensitivity of the mobile device and the Base Station. Wireless Private Branch Exchange (WPBX) systems address this limitation by using more than one Base Station (BS). The area that a Base Station covers is called a cell. In the main, hereinafter, mobile units (devices) that are cordless (telephone) handsets are discussed.
In a WPBX, the Base Stations are interconnected in order to allow handsets that are in different cells to communicate with one another. When a handset moves from one cell to another during a call, the handoff (or handover) of communication from one Base Station to another Base Station enables uninterrupted communication. A central unit that is usually called the xe2x80x9cSwitchxe2x80x9d is connected to all the Base Stations. The Switch controls the operation of the system, routes the call to Base Stations and to Gateways, which connect the WPBX to external communication systems. The transmission power of a cordless handset in the WPBX is usually lower than the transmission power of the handset of a standard cellular system, which results in a WPBX for cordless handsets having much smaller cells (referred to as mini-cells, or micro-cells or picocells) than the cells of a standard cellular system.
Some cordless handsets use communication protocols that are also used in cellular system, but they transmit in a lower power than a mobile (cellular) handset. For examples protocols in use are GSM and IS-136. According to these protocols the handoff between cells is performed by collaboration of the cordless handset, the Base Stations and the Switch. These handsets can connect to the WPBX when they are in its coverage area, and can also connect to any other cellular system that supports the communication protocol that they are using.
Some handsets use communication protocols that were designed especially to allow communication with WPBX. Some examples are DECT, CT-2, PAC, and PACS. The handset is usually a dedicated handset that is used only in the area covered by the WBPX.
Some handsets have dual mode support. For example a handset may communicate with the WPBX using DECT, and may allow communication with other cellular systems using GSM.
Some WPBXs use standard cordless handsets. These handsets have no special mechanism to support the handoff between cells. In these systems the Switch and the Base Stations perform the handoff, and the handset is not aware of (does not participate actively in) the handoff process. When a standard cordless handset moves from one cell to another the Switch routes the call to another cell. Since cordless phones use xe2x80x9csimplexe2x80x9d protocols, for example an analog fixed transmission, when the call is routed to the new cell, the cordless phone automatically will receive it.
During the last years short-range communication protocols have become much more complicated. Very low power is used in order to allow many systems to operate in close vicinity. Complex transmissions methods like frequency hopping and spread spectrum are used in order to overcome interference, and improve the communication quality. Digital communication methods are used allowing communication of data and voice on the same system. Error correction encoders are used in order to improve reliability. Security and privacy of the communication is improved with the use of Digital authentication and encryption.
Short-range communication systems are used for many purposes. A growing trend for short-range communication usage is Personal Area Network (PAN) devices and applications, among such is the xe2x80x9call in one handsetxe2x80x9d and personal data devices. Such type of handset supports standard cellular communication, and also has the ability to communicate with personal area network devices that are in its near vicinity, using short-range communication. Some PAN short-range communication standards were not designed to allow mobility, i.e. they were not designed to allow handoff in between Base Stations in general and during an active session in particular. This limits a session via such device to be linked to a single Base Station and therefore to very limited area.
The xe2x80x9cBluetoothxe2x80x9d standard is a short-range wireless communication standard that has many uses for voice applications and telephony (e.g. cordless phone, wireless headsets) and also for data applications (laptop to personal computer communication, wireless local area network Gateways etc.). The Bluetooth wireless technology is implemented using a universal radio interface in the 2.45 GHz frequency band that enables portable electronic devices to connect and communicate wirelessly via short-range, ad hoc networks. Each unit can simultaneously communicate with up to seven other units per piconet. Moreover, each unit can simultaneously belong to several piconets.
Bluetooth connection is planned to be standard feature in future cellular handsets, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Palmtop and Laptop computers. The Bluetooth standard does not support mobility between Base Stations, since it was primarily designed for short-range communication as a cable replacement. A cellular handset with Bluetooth wireless technology will be able to operate as a cordless phone, but only in the near vicinity of a single Base Station. The same limitation applies to mobile personal data devices such as PDA""s and mobile computers.
Unless otherwise noted, or as may be evident from the context of their usage, any terms, abbreviations, acronyms or scientific symbols and notations used herein are to be given their ordinary meaning in the technical discipline to which the invention most nearly pertains. The following glossary of terms is intended to lend clarity and consistency to the various descriptions contained herein, as well as in prior art documents:
A general object of the invention is to provide a technique for allowing mobile units (devices) such as standard cordless telephone handsets and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), laptop or notebook computers or similar devices that support wireless communication (such as Bluetooth wireless technology) to seamlessly connect to a Wireless Private Branch Exchange (WPBX), or to a standard (wired) PBX or to a LAN or to a cellular telephone network or to a standard wired telephone network, thereby avoiding the use of special (typically expensive) handsets or attachments or software or hardware agents , with the abovementioned mobile devices.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations, at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of communicating between mobile units and the Base Stations comprising: dividing a communication protocol into a low-level protocol for performing tasks that require accurate time synchronization and a high-level protocol which does not require accurate time synchronization; and for each connection of a mobile unit with a Base Station, running an instance of the low-level protocol at the Base Station connected with the mobile unit and running an instance of the high-level protocol at the Switch.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of synchronizing at least one neighboring Base Station to the Base Station connected with the mobile unit comprising: from the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, sending call parameters and rough synchronization information to the at least one neighboring Base Station; and at the at least one neighboring Base Station, monitoring transmissions of at least one of: the Base Station connected with the mobile unit; the mobile unit; and a beacon signal from a beacon transmitter which is within range of the at least one neighboring Base Station and the Base Station connected with the mobile unit.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising a plurality of Base Stations and at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of synchronizing at least one neighboring Base Station to a Base Station connected with a mobile unit comprising: from the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, periodically transmitting during a selected time interval with higher transmission power than during normal transmission; and receiving the transmission with higher transmission power at the least one neighboring Base Station.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of detecting the presence of a specific mobile unit in a coverage area of at least one neighboring Base Station, comprising: the Base Station connected with the mobile unit provides, to the at least one neighboring Base Station, information about the connection with the mobile unit, including rough TOD and a device address for the mobile unit; at the at least one neighboring Base Station, receiving information and generating a list of frequencies in which the mobile unit is likely to transmit; and at the at least one neighboring Base Station, checking for a signal transmitted by the mobile unit.
According to the present invention there is provided a method for detecting a mobile unit by a Base Station, wherein frequency-hopping is used to communicate between Base Stations and mobile units, comprising: at a Base Station that is connected to a mobile unit, periodically yielding a hop; and during the hop which has been yielded by the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, communicating with the mobile unit from at least one neighboring Base Station.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of detecting a handset by at least one Base Station which is waiting for the mobile unit to enter its coverage area, comprising: from the at least one Base Station waiting for the mobile unit to enter its coverage area and the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, sending a PING command to the mobile unit; and at the Base Station waiting for the mobile unit to enter its coverage area, receiving an ECHO reply from the mobile unit.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations, at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, and at least one mobile unit, a method of handing off the mobile unit from a Base Station communicating with the mobile unit and a neighboring Base Station, comprising: smoothing a plurality of signals received from a handset by a plurality of Base Stations; comparing the signals with one another; and selecting a Base Station for handoff based on signal quality.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising at least two Base Stations and at least one Switch in communication with the Base Stations, a method of performing handoff of a session from a Base Station connected with a mobile unit to a neighboring Base Station, wherein an instance of a low-level communications protocol is running at the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, comprising: at the Switch, determining when to perform handoff to a selected one of the neighboring Base Stations; at the selected one of the neighboring Base Stations, creating a copy of the low-level communications protocol, including at least a synchronized time of day (TOD) parameter; from the Switch, sending a command to stop communication with the mobile unit at a specified TOD to the Base Station connected with the mobile unit and sending a command to start communication with the mobile unit at the specified TOD to the selected one of the neighboring Base Stations; and updating session status tables in the Switch and in the Base Stations.
According to the present invention there is provided, in a wireless communication system comprising a Base Station connected with a mobile unit, a method of detecting and synchronizing with the mobile unit prior to receiving a handoff of a session with the mobile unit, comprising: from the Base Station connected with the mobile unit, sending rough synchronization information to at least one neighboring Base Station; at the neighboring Base Station, performing a wide-range search for xe2x80x9ctargetxe2x80x9d signals having the correct timing for a mobile unit, based on the rough synchronization information provided by the Base Station which is connected with the mobile unit; narrowing the search for an actual signal from the mobile unit; acquiring the target signal; and synchronizing the neighboring Base Station to the Base Station connected with the mobile unit.
According to the present invention, a system comprises one or more mobile units such as standard cordless handsets, two or more Base Stations, and at least one Switch. The Base Stations are connected to one another and to the Switch. The handsets communicate directly with the Base Stations, rather than with one another.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the Base Stations and Switch communicate directly with one another, rather than, for example, over the PSTN. However, the system may interface with the PSTN, the Internet or a LAN, or with a PBX via a Gateway.
According to a feature of the present invention, a method is provided for handing off calls from a one Base Station to another (neighboring) Base Station, with mobile units (e.g., standard cordless handsets) that do not support connection to more than one Base Station and that do not support mobility with seamless handoff between Base Stations. This is an important feature because the mobile device uses complicated digital communication methods, so simple handoff methods that only the Switch supports are inadequate. Rather, the Switch and Base Stations cooperate with one another for the handoff operation. Accurate synchronization of Base Stations facilitates handoff. Advantageously, the handoff operation does not require explicit cooperation between the mobile device and the Base Stations.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for dividing the short-range communication protocol that is used by the handset between high-level protocols which do not need accurate time synchronization and low-level protocols which have strict time synchronization requirements (require accurate time synchronization). The low-level protocols are performed by the Base Stations, and the high-level protocols are performed in the Switch. This enables handoff to be performed even when complex (e.g. frequency hopping, encryption, authentication) and multi-level protocols are used. This also reduces the synchronization requirements between Base Stations.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for accurately synchronizing the Base Stations and, more particularly, for synchronizing the Base Stations when frequency-hopping communication is used.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for detecting the presence of a mobile device in the coverage area of a Base Station (i.e., its picocell).
According to an aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for determining when to perform handoff of a session(i.e., a phone call, a data link, etc.), and to which Base Station to hand the session, by measuring signal quality at the Base Stations. This method is effective, even when complex transmission methods are used.
The methods disclosed herein are not limited to the communication of a certain type of data. Hence, they can be utilized for telephony applications and for data applications.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in light of the following description thereof.